SECURITY FORCE AUXILIARIES (SFA)An Abridged History

A History of the Security Force Auxiliaries or Militia

The deployment of Security Force Auxiliary detachments started in the second quarter of 1978 and
coincided with the formation of the Government of National Unity following the Agreement of 3 March.

The objective
was to bring on side guerrillas who were prepared to throw in their lot
with the internal nationalist leaders, and was tied in with a new
amnesty campaign. Initially recruiting was slow and confined in the
main to ZANU (Sithole). A fair proportion of these were externally
trained, mainly in Uganda.

Initially Special
Branch assisted by the newly formed Headquarters Special Forces were
responsible for their control and administration. Funds were provided
through the Prime Minister's Office, and SFA were armed with an
assortment of captured communist weapons. Their dress was similar to
the guerrillas themselves being in the main blue denim or other
civilian clothing. It was only towards the end of 1978 that the
forerunners to the brown uniforms started to appear.

As 1978 drew to a close their usefulness was becoming apparent and they
were beginning to have marked effect on the guerrillas themselves. By
the beginning of 1979 the date for the election had been set for April
and large numbers of additional SFA were recruited for operations in
areas generally supporting the UANC as it was apparent that the latter
had the most support amongst the internal parties.

At this time, and on the recommendation of the Army Psychological
Operations Unit, the SFA were given the name 'Pfumo re Vanhu' or 'Spear
of the People'. This name had no party political connotation although
opponents of the UANC were quick to allege that it had an UANC flavour.

During the run up to the election the strength of the SFA
grew from some three thousand to more than ten thousand men. The vast
majority of these were ordinary tribesmen although there were a number
of guerillas who had thrown in their lot with either Bishop Muzorewa or
the Rev. Sithole and a number of cress ganged ZANLA mujibas.

Because of the urgent necessity to deploy the SFA into the Tribal Trust
Lands to ensure a good vote at the April Election, few of them received
more than four weeks basic training whilst their leadership was
selected more by trial and error then experience. There was, on an
average, one European liaison Officer, normally a junior NCO, to every
one hundred and fifty SFA.

The SFA achieved the aim of
obtaining a good vote in the TTL's into which they had been deployed
but the result of the election brought about a different reactions from
the main parties involved.

a. The SFA orientated towards the UANC who numbered about 6,000 were
delighted with the results, but there were immediate demands to stand
down as they were now the "Winners". When they realised that
this was not to be; as the war was continuing; there was a marked drop
in morale in some areas and a number of desertions.

b. When the election results were announced there were slightly under
2,000 SFA orientated towards ZANU (Sithole) in the field. The
allegations of gross irregularities in the election made by Sithole and
others of his party had a marked effect on the ZANU detachments who
were convinced they had been cheated. A mistake in the addition of the
votes cast in the Gokwe district, which reversed a narrow ZANU majority
into a loss of almost a thousand turned what was a model detachment at
Nembudzia into virtual enemies of the Government.

Although the Rev. Sithole gave out that the ZANU SFA were to continue to support the Government of National Unity there was an
undercurrent of plotting and machinations going on behind the scenes. Junior party men were in constant contact with detachments and were
inciting them continually to disobey the security Forces.

Following the general election a major re-training and re-orientation programme was instituted. This started in May 1979 with a senior staff
orientation course with about 84 students supplied equally from the UANC and ZANU. A new rank structure was introduced and those who did
well on the orientation course were slotted into senior positions.

At this time it was also resolved that the funding of the SFA would be switched from the PM' Department to the Ministry of
Defence and that the force would therefore come under the Army from 1 July 1979. Special Branch would be relieved of their part in the
administration as this was detrimental to their correct role in the intelligence field. HQ Special Forces with its very small staff then
became almost entirel responsible for the day to day administration of the SFA.

Following the completion of the senior orientation course in June the re-organisation of the detachments
began. Members who were dissatisfied were discharged and the conversion
of all those armed with communist weapons to G3 rifles was begun. The
establishment was cut from 10,500 to 7,816 and a period of
consolidation took place. More emphasis was placed on leadership and
motivation.

The conversion of the ZANU
detachments to G3 rifles was scheduled to start in early July but this
was immediately met with opposition from most quarters and a refusal to
obey orders and go for re-training. As a result Security Forces had to
be used to ensure that ZANU SFA complied with orders given to them.

This resulted in two major incidents on 20 July when fighting broke out
between Security Forces and ZANU at Nembudzia (Gokwe) and Nyamaropa.
These incidents resulted in the death of about 190 SFA and one soldier.
A number of other soldiers and SFA were wounded. All the dissident SFA
were detained whilst the remainder were retrained and redeployed.

On redeployment they were integrated with their UANC counterparts and SFA
of all factions and tribal groupings were warned that further
participation in part} politics would no longer be tolerated.

The future emphasis of the SFA was to be directed towards
national politics and nation building. Whilst supporting the Government
of the day, the emphasis was to be placed on freedom to vote for and
support any party of a persons choice without fear of intimidation.
This was a high ideal, and, as can be seen through out Africa, it is
not easy to implement.

Following
the take over of all administrative and logistical responsibilities
from Special Branch it became immediately obvious that the three
married quarters in KG VI Barracks were totally inadequate. As a result
investigations were undertaken to find an alternative site. By August a
suitable location had been found at the Imperial Tobacco Company at
Msasa for a Rear Headquarters. During that month all the AQ staff, MT
and the ordnance depot moved to the new site leaving only the command,
operational and liaison staffs at KG VI Barracks. It became immediately apparent that Home
Affairs did not have the administrative capability to take the orientation
courses over, and so the Army continued with some assistance from
personnel of other ministries.

On Sunday 2
September the raising of the new National Flag took place at Rufaro
Stadium in Salisbury and at numerous other centres throughout the
country. Where-ever there were SFA detachments in close proximity they
took part. In Salisbury there was a squad of 30 on parade and a further
100 lined the parade ground. They received tumultuous applause from a
crowd estimated at 30,000.

In September Com Ops
decided that the SFA should take over the responsibilites for 74 PV's
from the Guard Force so that the latter could be deployed on the lines
of rail and in a mobile role in the European farming areas. As a result
the SFA establishment was again raised to approximately 10,000.

The PV's in the Beit Bridge, Chiredzi, Chipinga, Mutasa and
Darwin areas were taken over by the beginning of October, and once
initial teething troubles were overcome the scheme worked well.

In October 1979 the PM in London at the Lancaster House
talks, instructed that the SFA were immediately to be increased to
26,000. It soon became apparent that the administration could not
handle this number and the ceiling was set by the National JOC at
16,000 which is the highest figure it had ever reached.

During the period 1 July to 31 December the Central Training School at
Domboshawa and the next door farm, Elphida, were working at full
capacity. Thirty five courses were conducted by the staff and 4,365
students and recruits passed through the school. Seventeen different
types of courses were run. These were Senior Staff Orientation, Liaison
Officers, Detachment and Unit Leaders, Junior Leaders, Area
Administrators, Trackers, Basic Recruits, Re-training detachments,
Envoys, Advanced Envoys, Drill and Weapons instructors, Radio
Operators, Basic Administration, Q Accounting, Troop Medical Orderly.
Drivers and Intelligence.

Up until the end of
1979 instructors were loaned to the SFA from the Army, BSA Police,
Guard Force, Air Force and Home Affairs. An eight week drill and
weapons instructors course attended by 102 SFA students was held over
the period October to December at Guinea Fowl and of those attending 56
passed at an Army standard. All attached instructors were therefore
released back to their own Services early in January.

Recruit courses and retraining also took place at various Brigade and
JOC Battle Camps during 1979. These were staffed by a variety of
instructors from JOC resources. Standards were not always uniform and
the long term plan was for all training except refresher to take place
at Elphida.

The large increase in recruiting over
the last quarter of 1979 put a greater strain on the administrative and
logistical systems. Treasury funded the money and orders for uniforms,
kit, equipment, radios, vehicles and support weapons were placed in
November. For almost two months, however, the majority of the SFA were
clad in little more than Tee shirts, shorts and boots. Other Government
Departments were mobilised to assist, and uniforms together with the
bulk of equipment became the responsibility of Government Central
Stores. This eased the burden on the overworked logistics staff at
Headquarters Special Forces. By the beginning of 1980 sufficient of
most items had been received and stocks were arriving on an almost
daily basis.

During the second half of 1979
considerable success were achieved on operations. During this period 66
guerrillas were killed and another93 captured. SFA losses during the
same period were 98 killed in action or vehicle accidents, a further
100 were wounded or injured.

There can be no
shadow of doubt that the SFA had proved that they were an essential
back-up to the Security Forces and provided a link between the
Government and the people in many of the areas in which the SFA were
deployed. The situation would have been far worse in the country
without them and they proved to be a thorn in the side of the
Guerrillas.

As in any semi-trained and
inexperienced force motivation is a key factor in keeping the boat on
an even keel. In the case of the SFA this received high priority and a
large number of envoys were trained by 1 Psychological Operations Unit.
These envoys were trained to motivate both their own men and the
tribesmen to follow the course of democracy. Over the period December
1979 to February 1980 approximately 300 additional envoys were trained.
On the orders of Commander Combined Operations these envoys were used
to explain the difference between marxism and true democracy to the
people.

On several occasions HQ Special Forces
had recommended to both Com Ops and Army HQ that the SFA should be made
a properly constituted force, but this was always resisted mainly due
to the number of other forces already in being, and because of their
previous political taint. However a full establishment and rank
structure were introduced and SFA funds were used to purchase a
Computer for the Army. The personal details of every member of the SFA
was actually recorded by this computer.

During
the months from November 1979 to March 1980 the MT Branch carried out
driving courses at HQ SFA (Rear), Msasa. During this period 195 learner
drivers passed their tests. Almost half of these had never driven
before whilst the remainder either had a civilian licence or some
experience. In addition 172 drivers successfully completed conversion
courses onto other types of vehicles.

After the
introduction of the so-called Cease Fire and the move of guerrillas
into assembly points, the SFA were able to concentrate more fully on
re-construction and re-building. A competition between detachments was
introduced. This was called operation 'Ruoko re Vanhu' of which a
literal translation is a helping hand to the people. Over the period 1
January to 24 February this operation resulted in the opening of over
90 schools, 27 clinics, 9 business centres, 71 stores, 71 dips, 4 beer
halls, 16 grinding mills and two missions. Several of the clinics were
staffed by SFA medical assistants.

Reconstruction
had been undertaken on a national basis. District and Provincial teams
were formed to do the planning under the direction of Home Affairs. The
SFA worked very closely with these teams and also with the tribes
people themselves to assess their needs. Much of the pick and shovel
work was done by them and there were instances when detachments
actually clubbed together to buy materials for certain projects.

The purchase of Elphida Farm was finally resolved in January
1980 and the contractors John Sisk and Son (Pvt) Ltd were tasked with
building an Headquarters, Camp Hospital, QM Stores and instructors
quarters for the Central Training School.

On 11
February the first passing out parade to be held at Elphida took place.
A large number of guests and three overseas TV teams were invited, and
the parade was reviewed by Brigadier Campling the day before he was
promoted to Major General. Everyone was impressed by the standard and
bearing of all SFA at CTS.

In line with the rest
of the Civil Service and Security Forces the SFA received a pay rise
with effect from 1 February 1980. For the majority of the SFA this was
about 15 percent although for the top five grades it was approximately
100 percent, as these ranks had not received the previous rise in
August.

Although there was meant to be a cease
fire in operation from early January, this was far from the case.
Several thousand ZANLA guerrillas remained in the TTL's to intimidate
the local tribesmen and their place in the Assembly Points was taken by
untrained mujibas to make up numbers and dupe overseas observers.
During the first two months of 1980, operations continued almost
unabated and the SFA achieved considerable success. During this period
they killed 23 guerrillas and 7 mujibas, captured 86 guerrillas and 26
mujibas and lost fifteen of their own men killed in action.

With the lifting of sanctions against this country, the Imperial
Tobacco Company decided to sell their factory at Msasa. As a result it
became necessary to move all the administrative staff back to KG VI
Barracks in March, although Q, Ordnance and MT were given an extension
of lease until 31 May 1980 at an increased monthly rental.

The ZANU (PF) landslide victory at the polls meant there was no
possibility of the continuance of the SFA as a force. They had been too
successful against the guerrillas and their early political background
mitigated against them. In spite of severe provocation by ZANU (PF),
their conduct after the election was generally exemplary and they
proved that they were still a disciplined force who had the interest of
the people at heart.

The keenness, willingness to
learn, espirit de corps and dedication to the cause of the SFA were
exceptional. Many members of the Security Forces at middle and lower
levels who were detailed to serve with them came reluctantly. It took
only a short time for them to appreciate the worth of the SFA and
become amongst their most ardent supporters. Great is the pity that the
SFA have not been able to realise their full potential for the future
of Zimbabwe.